The Blue Caftan

The Blue Caftan
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMaryam Touzani
Written by
Produced byNabil Ayouch
Starring
CinematographyVirginie Surdej
Edited byNicolas Rumpl
Music byKristian Eidnes Andersen
Production
companies
  • Les Films du Nouveau Monde
  • Ali n' Productions
  • Velvet Films
  • Snowglobe
  • RTBF
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 26 May 2022 (2022-05-26) (Cannes)
  • 22 February 2023 (2023-02-22) (Morocco)
  • 22 March 2023 (2023-03-22) (France)
  • 29 March 2023 (2023-03-29) (Belgium)
  • 7 September 2023 (2023-09-07) (Denmark)
Running time
123 minutes[1]
Countries
  • France
  • Morocco
  • Belgium
  • Denmark
LanguageArabic

The Blue Caftan (Arabic: أزرق القفطان, released in France as Le Bleu du caftan) is a 2022 Moroccan Arabic-language drama film directed by Maryam Touzani, and written by Touzani with the collaboration of Nabil Ayouch.

The film premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival,[2][3] where it won the FIPRESCI Prize in its section. The Moroccan Cinema Center (Centre cinématographique marocain) selected The Blue Caftan to represent Morocco in the 2023 Oscars International Feature Film category, where it made history as the first Moroccan film to be shortlisted for the award.[4]

Plot

Mina works the front counter of a caftan shop in the medina of Salé, Morocco. Halim, her husband is a maalem (master artisan) tailor and works in the back room while he mentors their young apprentice Youssef. The two men are laboring on Halim’s masterpiece project, a blue caftan. The married couple share an affectionate and loving relationship, but head-strong Mina is aware of her meek husband’s same-sex predilection and keeps a wary and hostile eye on Youssef. Meanwhile, Halim frequents a hammam (same-sex bathhouse) where he engages in clandestine sexual activities.

Mina becomes ill from an underlying terminal disease and stops working. Alone at the store, Youssef professes his love for Halim and is rebuffed. As Mina’s condition worsens, Halim works from home to care for her while Youssef takes charge of the business. As he shuttles between the home and the shop, Mina begins to appreciate Youssef and they form a bond.

Shortly before her death, Mina gives her tacit approval for Halim to pursue a loving relationship with Youssef. After she passes, Halim and Youssef carry her bier, alone, to the cemetery.[5]

Cast

Release

The film was selected to be screened in the Un Certain Regard section of the 75th Cannes Film Festival,[6] where it had its world premiere on 26 May 2022.[7]

The film was released in Morocco on 22 February 2023 by Megarama Distribution.[8] Ad Vitam Distribution released the film in France on 22 March 2023.[9] It was also released in Belgium on 29 March 2023 by Cinéart.[10] Danish distributor Camera Film released the film on 7 September 2023.[11]

International sales are handled by Films Boutique.[12]

Reception

Box office

As of November 2023, The Blue Caftan had sold more than 500,000 tickets worldwide setting a new record for overseas admissions for any recent Moroccan film.[13]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 96% based on 54 reviews, with an average rating of 8.3/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "A love story shaped by some surprising contours, The Blue Caftan surveys the hidden heart with compassion and grace."[14] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 83 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[15] The Blue Caftan received an average rating of 3.8 out of 5 stars on the French website AlloCiné, based on 27 reviews.[16]

Accolades

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Belgian Film Critics Association 6 January 2024 Grand Prix The Blue Caftan Nominated [17]
Cannes Film Festival 28 May 2022 FIPRESCI Prize – Un Certain Regard Won [18]
Lumière Awards 22 January 2024 Best International Co-Production Nominated [19]
Magritte Awards 9 March 2024 Best Actress Lubna Azabal Won [20]
Best Foreign Film in Coproduction The Blue Caftan Nominated [21]
GLAAD Media Award 14 March 2024 Outstanding Film – Limited Release The Blue Caftan Nominated [22]

See also

References

  1. ^ "The Blue Caftan". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  2. ^ Vivarelli, Nick (17 May 2022). "Morocco's Maryam Touzani Tackles Taboo Issues in the Arab World in Blue Caftan". Variety. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  3. ^ Quinlan, Caitlin (26 May 2022). "Un Certain Regard Title The Blue Caftan – Making a Statement in Morocco with a LGBTQ Love Story". Variety. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  4. ^ "Le long métrage "Le bleu du caftan" de Maryam Touzani représentera le Maroc dans la présélection des Oscars 2023 (CCM)". MAP Express (in French). Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  5. ^ director Maryam Touzani, produced by Nabil Ayouch, starring Lubna Azabal and Saleh Bakri, “The Blue Caftan”, Les Films du Nouveau Monde, Ali n' Productions, Velvet Films, Snowglobe and RTBF, Premiered February 22nd 2023 (Morocco), Web, www.tubitv.com, https://tubitv.com/movies/100041984/the-blue-caftan, accessed August 4th 2025
  6. ^ Lemercier, Fabien (21 April 2022). "17 new titles added to Cannes' Official Selection". Cineuropa. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  7. ^ "Cannes : Le Bleu du Caftan de Maryam Touzani projeté le 26 mai". H24info.ma (in French). 25 May 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  8. ^ Qods Chabâa (3 February 2023). "Le Bleu du caftan, film de Meryam Touzani, en salles le 22 février". Le360 (in French). Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  9. ^ "De grandes espérances, Le Bleu du caftan, Eternal Daughter... : les films de la semaine aidés par le CNC" (in French). Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée. 21 March 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  10. ^ "Le Bleu du Caftan" (in French). Cinéart. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  11. ^ Christensen, Ralf (7 September 2023). "Marokkansk sansebombe fortæller mest med blikke og med hænder". Dagbladet Information (in Danish). Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  12. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (9 August 2022). "Cannes Winner The Blue Caftan Lands North American Distribution". Variety. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  13. ^ Staff Reporter (2023-11-22). "Moroccan film 'The Blue Caftan' surpasses 500K global ticket sales milestone". BroadcastPro ME. Retrieved 2024-10-11.
  14. ^ "The Blue Caftan". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  15. ^ "The Blue Caftan". Metacritic. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  16. ^ "Critiques Presse pour le film Le Bleu du Caftan". AlloCiné (in French). Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  17. ^ "'The Quiet Girl' Grand Prix de l'UCC 2024". Cinéart (in French). 8 January 2024. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  18. ^ Latrech, Oumaima (29 May 2022). "'Bleu du Caftan': 1st Moroccan Movie to Win FIPRESCI Prize in Cannes". Morocco World News.
  19. ^ Lemercier, Fabien (14 December 2023). "Anatomie d'une chute domine les nominations pour les Lumières". Cineuropa (in French). Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  20. ^ Saint-Amand, François (8 March 2024). "Les Magritte du Cinéma 2024 : "Dalva" remporte sept Magritte dont le Meilleur film, découvrez le palmarès complet". RTBF (in French). Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  21. ^ "Nominations aux Magritte : un record pour le long-métrage 'Augure' de Baloji". RTBF (in French). Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  22. ^ "GLAAD ANNOUNCES NOMINEES FOR THE 35th ANNUAL GLAAD MEDIA AWARDS". GLAAD. January 17, 2024. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.